Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick
An Australian intellectual property firm serving patent, trademark, design and related legal and advisory needs.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick (POF) is an Australian intellectual property firm with roots in the late nineteenth-century patent-agent profession. Its origins date to 1888, when William D. Rowlingson began practising as a registered patent agent in Melbourne. At that time, intellectual property protection was governed principally by the separate laws of the Australian colonies, so the practice’s work extended across the six colonies that later became the Australian states. The firm developed through a succession of partnerships and name changes, eventually adopting the Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick name used today. The firm’s work covers the principal forms of registered intellectual property. Its patent practice assists with the protection and management of inventions, while its trade mark and design practices address brand identifiers, product appearance and related commercial rights. It also provides intellectual property legal services, research and investigation work, and portfolio-management support. This combination gives the firm a role across the life cycle of an IP asset, from early investigation and filing through prosecution, maintenance, strategic management and enforcement-related advice. POF’s history is closely connected with the development of Australia’s federal intellectual property system. Following Federation in 1901, the Commonwealth introduced federal legislation dealing with patents, trade marks and designs. Edwin Phillips, who had acquired Rowlingson’s practice and renamed it Phillips, Ormonde & Co., continued operating under the new framework and was registered as a patent attorney under the Patents Act 1903. Later partners, including Cecil Woods LePlastrier and Victor Kelson, helped build the practice during the first half of the twentieth century. The firm’s name changed as new partners joined, and in 1967 it became Phillips Ormonde & Fitzpatrick under the leadership of Bertram C. Fitzpatrick. In the modern period, POF expanded beyond its original Melbourne base. The firm has offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, and is described as having approximately 140 employees and more than 25 partners. It also operates directly in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, giving it a regional presence while remaining principally associated with the Australian IP market. Its client work spans technical inventions, commercial brands, product designs and broader intellectual property strategies across multiple industries. The firm also communicates legal and industry developments through Inspire, a quarterly publication covering intellectual property updates, cases, case studies and firm news. POF marked its 125th anniversary in 2013, underscoring the continuity of a practice that has operated through the transition from colonial legislation to Australia’s federal IP regime and the increasingly international nature of intellectual property protection. It remains an active specialist professional-services brand rather than a publicly listed consumer or corporate-products brand.
History
Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick traces its institutional history to 1888, when William D. Rowlingson commenced practice in Melbourne as a registered patent agent. The practice served clients across the six Australian colonies, each of which maintained separate legislation for inventions, trade marks, designs and copyright. In 1889, Albert Swanston joined Rowlingson after practising independently, and the two worked in partnership as Swanston & Rowlingson until 1892. Edwin Phillips subsequently acquired the practice and renamed it Phillips, Ormonde & Co. Phillips had arrived in Australia from England in 1881 and had worked with the Australian Electric Light Company, installing lighting plants at mines in Victoria and Queensland. He later entered the engineering partnership Phillips & Jacques and held outside directorships and investments in Victorian companies. His engineering background shaped his interest in inventions and intellectual property. He also wrote The Inventor’s Aid, a handbook for inventors, and published The Scientific Australian. The firm operated during a period of major constitutional and legislative change. Proposals for closer union among the Australian colonies had circulated for decades, and the movement culminated in Federation in 1901. Federal legislation then established a national framework for intellectual property: the Patents Act 1903, the Trade Marks Act 1905 and the Designs Act 1906. Phillips had been registered under the earlier colonial arrangements and continued his practice after Federation. In 1904, he became registered as a patent attorney under the Patents Act 1903. He continued practising under the federal system until 1921 and died in 1923. Cecil Woods LePlastrier joined the practice and was registered as a patent attorney in 1905. He was among the early individuals to qualify through the official examination created under the new federal registration system. He later entered partnership with Phillips. Victor Kelson joined around 1907 and became registered as a patent attorney in 1920. His admission to partnership led to the name Phillips Ormonde LePlastrier & Kelson. LePlastrier remained the senior partner until his death in 1952. The partnership expanded in 1938 to include Geoffrey Sly and Bertram C. Fitzpatrick. Sly became senior partner after LePlastrier and held that role until his death in 1964. Fitzpatrick, who had originally been engaged by Edwin Phillips in 1919, then became senior partner and remained in that position until retiring in 1972. During Fitzpatrick’s leadership, the firm changed its name in 1967 to Phillips Ormonde & Fitzpatrick, establishing the core naming form from which the present brand developed. In the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the firm expanded its staff, partnership and geographic coverage. It developed offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide and began operating directly in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The firm is described as having more than 25 partners and approximately 140 employees. Its professional work now encompasses patents, trade marks, designs, IP legal services, research and investigations, and portfolio management. POF also maintains an outward-facing publishing role through Inspire, a quarterly newsletter covering intellectual property cases, legal and regulatory developments, case studies and firm news. The firm celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2013. Its history illustrates the professionalisation of patent and IP practice in Australia, moving from colonial patent-agent work to a federal and regionally connected intellectual property firm.
- 2013
125th anniversary
[1]The firm marked 125 years since the establishment of Rowlingson’s original practice.
- 1967
Firm adopts the Phillips Ormonde & Fitzpatrick name
[1]The name was changed during Bertram C. Fitzpatrick’s senior partnership.
- 1938
Partnership expands
[1]Geoffrey Sly and Bertram C. Fitzpatrick joined the partnership.
- 1905
Cecil Woods LePlastrier qualifies as a patent attorney
[1]LePlastrier became one of the early patent attorneys to qualify through the official examination established under the federal system.
- 1904
Edwin Phillips registers as a federal patent attorney
[1]Phillips was registered as a patent attorney under the Patents Act 1903.
- 1903
Australia establishes federal patent legislation
[1]The Patents Act 1903 created the principal federal statutory framework under which the firm’s patent practice continued.
- 1892
Edwin Phillips acquires and renames the practice
[1]Edwin Phillips acquired the business and renamed it Phillips, Ormonde & Co.
- 1889
Albert Swanston joins Rowlingson
[1]Albert Swanston joined the practice, which operated as Swanston & Rowlingson until 1892.
- 1888
William D. Rowlingson begins the original practice
[1]William D. Rowlingson commenced practice as a registered patent agent in Melbourne, establishing the firm’s historical origins.
Products and positioning
Specialist intellectual property professional-services firm
Intellectual property services
Patent services
POF’s patent practice supports the protection and management of inventions. The source material identifies patents as a core service area, reflecting the firm’s origins in registered patent-agent work and its subsequent operation under Australia’s federal patent legislation.
Intellectual property services
Trade mark services
The firm provides trade mark services as part of its broader IP offering. These services concern the protection and management of commercial identifiers and form one of the principal areas in which POF advises clients.
Intellectual property services
Design services
POF advises on registered-design matters, covering intellectual property rights associated with the visual appearance and design characteristics of products.
Legal services
IP legal services
The firm offers legal services relating to intellectual property, complementing its patent, trade mark and design capabilities with broader legal advice.
Intellectual property advisory services
Research and investigation services
POF provides IP-related research and investigation services to support client decisions, rights management and intellectual property strategy.
Intellectual property advisory services
IP portfolio management
The firm manages intellectual property portfolios, helping clients coordinate and maintain rights across patents, trade marks, designs and related assets.
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